Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have adopted significantly different strategies in their dueling bids to win the 2024 presidential election, according to a number of leading political scientists.
Thomas Gift, who heads the Center on US Politics at University College London, said Republicans The candidate was “participating in more unscripted events” which he opposed to Harris’ “refusal to take tough questions from the media”.
Replaced Harris Joe Biden As the Democratic presidential candidate immediately after the incumbent Dropped out of the race in July Amid widespread concern about the 81-year-old’s age and mental abilities. In a recent Activvote poll, Harris A 1.6 point lead over TrumpWith 50.8 percent of the vote against his 49.2 percent, however this was within the margin of error and the Republican candidate was able to win with a minority of votes thanks to the Electoral College system as in 2016.
Since becoming DemocratsWhite House candidate Harris has largely avoided unscripted interviews, bar a Chief with CNN’s Dana Besh Aired on 29 August. The interview came weeks after Republican attacks on Harris, who claimed his Democratic rival was dodging scrutiny, and his running mate, the governor. Tim Walz.
In contrast, Trump regularly participates in unscripted interviews, though critics have suggested he strongly favors discussions with sympathetic interviewers and publications. In the last nine days alone, interviews with Trump have been released on him by Phil McGrath Phil Primetime Dr Shaw, computer scientist and Elon Musk-Related Lex Friedman, and DailyMail.com, the website of a conservative British tabloid.
speaking together newsweek, Gift said: “The contrast is even more stark with Harris refusing to take tough questions from the media as Trump attends more unscripted events. While Trump is most at home at stadium-sized events, MAGA rallies mostly serve only to galvanize the base. is
“Interacting with online influencers, talking to celebrities and holding press conferences allows Trump to expand his audience. This is free air time that Harris doesn’t get.”
However, James Bautista, an expert on American politics who teaches at the University at Buffalo, said that many of the debates Trump participated in were not “real interviews.”
He said: “Dr Phil and the Daily Mail Deeply supportive of Trump’s campaign, Friedman broadly supports that kind of “tech bro,” “anti-walk” politics. [Senator J.D.] Vance types. So Trump is doing those interviews because he knows in advance that they’re unlikely to be very challenging, that the interviewers are likely to help him when he has a ‘senior moment’, and that interviewing isn’t really that different. By putting out a very long campaign ad.”
Trump has held significantly fewer public rallies during the 2024 presidential race compared to his past campaigns. N Analysis by The Washington Post It found that between July and the opening of August 10, 2024, it held only seven rallies, compared to 22 during the same period in 2016. His next rally is scheduled for Saturday in Mosinee, Wisconsin.
On July 13, Trump narrowly avoided murder When a gunman opened fire on him during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, he was slightly wounded and one attendee was killed.
Batista suggested that this could be linked to the decline in Trump’s rallies: “Perhaps, part of the reason why Trump relies less on rallies is that at a recent rally, he would have been killed if he hadn’t had extreme luck. Keep your head straight when he does.
Harris has held regular rallies over the past few weeks with recent events Portsmouth, New HampshireOn 4 September and in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaOn Labor Day when she joined President Biden.
It is worth mentioning that Harris A rally at the Fiserve Forum in Milwaukee On August 20, which his campaign claimed drew 15,000 people at the same time as the Democratic National Convention was being held in Chicago. Fiserve Forum was the same venue that hosted the 2024 Republican National Convention in July.
Professor Terry Bymes, a political scientist who University of CaliforniaBerkeley, said Newsweek That Harris’ well-attended rallies show “momentum” and suggests that the reduced crowds can be partly explained by Trump holding fewer events.
She said: “One possible explanation is that Trump rallies don’t draw as big crowds as they used to, and rally-goers are leaving Trump rallies early. That’s bad optics for any presidential candidate. Crowd size isn’t as important for interviews. This calculation explains Maybe that’s why former President Trump is doing more interviews than rallies.
“Why Kamala Harris He prefers rallies to interviews with the press, which I think is anti-Trump. She has momentum on her side and attracts huge crowds and gets free media coverage for her rallies. As long as the rallies attract large crowds, I don’t expect her to approach media outlets for interviews more often. The interview is high risk, low gain for Vice President Harris.
Professor Paul Quirk, an expert on US politics at the University of British Columbia, described the Harris campaign as “completely transparent and conservative”.
He said: “If a presidential candidate can hold public rallies in swing states with large, visibly enthusiastic crowds and get favorable coverage in the mainstream national media, there is no greater use of his time. Television interviews on major nonpartisan outlets — such as K CNN Or ABC—reach a large national audience, but interviewers take it as their job to cause trouble for candidates. Interviews with reliably friendly interviewers, on biased media, only reach the already convinced.”
In contrast, in an interview with Quick, the Trump campaign was described as “unique”. NewsweekAdding: “They have apparently concluded that a busy schedule of influential rallies in swing states is not an option.”
Quick continued: “There are several possible reasons for such a conclusion: Trump’s rally-attending base is apparently somewhat worn and depleted. The pro-Harris media has portrayed Trump’s rally venues with empty seats and audiences leaving while he spoke. He was mocked by showing…
Campaign finance issues—due in part to Trump’s use of campaign and party funds to pay for legal expenses—could constrain the size, frequency or locations of his rallies. After all, Trump himself seems somewhat tired and worn out. He plays a considerable amount of golf. He looks lethargic at times… Trump could bounce back, and the election is still close. But at this point, it is unclear whether he is still capable of running a competitive campaign.
Dafydd Townley, who teaches American politics at the University of Portsmouth in the UK, also suggested that low turnout and funding problems could explain Trump’s heavy reliance on interviews at high-profile rallies.
speaking together Newsweek He said: “Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz have to hold such big events instead of intimate interviews because they need to introduce themselves to the American public. While this is an opportunity to discuss policy, as much as anything else, it is about connecting with target audiences in critical states.
“Trump, on the other hand, has used this interview to try and show off his charisma, even though he recently confused Harris with Biden. He may avoid large town hall events for a variety of reasons — campaign funding, security and perhaps low turnout. But one-on-one friendly reporters are less likely to challenge their statements and claims.
Newsweek Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign were contacted for comment by email.
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